Loom harness



y ,1963 D. E. HOUGHTON ETAL 3,088,496

LOOM HARNESS INVENTORS DANIEL E. HOUGHTON 29 EMMETT F. DEADY STANLEY F.REED 2 BY A A T TOR/V5 Y May 7, 1963 D. E. HOUGHTON ET AL 3,088,496

LOOM HARNESS Filed Nov. 8, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 //Vl/E/V7'01?$ DANIELE. HOUGHTON EMMETT F. DEADY STANLEY F. REED ATTORNEY .515. 5.

3,088,496 LOUM HARNES Daniel E. Honghton and Emmett F. Deady, Arlington,

and Stanley F. Reed, McLean, Va, assignors, by mesne assignments, toCambridge Wire Cloth Company, Cambridge, Md.

Filed Nov. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 68,020 13 Claims. (ill. 139-92) Thisinvention relates to loom harness, and relates more particularly to theform and arrangement of the heddles and their associated supportingstructure. [Further, while these structures have general utility in theloom art, they are especially designed for use in wire weaving loomswherein both the warp and weft wires are stiff enough to be Woven by amethod wherein the weft wires are projected through the warp shedwithout bobbins or shuttles. It will be noted that looms of this typecan be operated at speeds many times those of the conventional bobbinand shuttle type because there are no large masses to be accelerated anddecelerated during each operating cycle of the weft wire feed; andtherefore, the vertical height of the warp shed can be reduced to aminor fraction of that required by conventional type looms.

Prior art heddles comprise, in general, a metallic strip with a warp eyein the center thereof and an attaching recess at each end for engagementwith heddle support members. Each time these looms are rewarped, eachindividual warp thread must be threaded through the eye of the heddlewhich will supply the shedding motion thereto. This is a laboriousprocess, and in the wireweaving art is done entirely by hand. This handthreading of the warp wires requires the time of two men for each loom,and in the custom wire weaving art, the warp-threading operation may bea major portion of the labor time required to produce a specified Wirefabric.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a loomharness structure of greatly simplified construction, wherein theprocess of sticking the warp wires through the heddles can besimplified; and also wherein the weaving operation itself is moreefiicient and therefore, can be speededup to produce Wire cloth of highquality with a significantly lower unit labor cost.

It is a further object to provide a loom harness that is adapted to easychangeover procedures for different sizes of wire or different meshesthereof and which may be so changed with the removal of only one elementof such harness from the supporting loom structure.

It is a further object to provide a heddle for a loom harness that isspecifically contoured to allow novel simplified sticking procedures tobe utilized therewith and still manufacture fabrics efiiciently,economically, and with great uniformity of mesh, symmetry of design, andhigh fidelity of reproduction.

With the foregoing, and ancillary objects in view, we propose to effectone embodiment of our invention as follows:

The present invention is concerned primarily with a novel heddleconfiguration and a specially contoured supporting structure tocooperate therewith to provide novel results in the utilization of thesestructures for weaving fabrics. The features of improvement of thepresent invention over prior art apparatus will be readily apparent whenthe drawings appended hereto are considered in the light of thefollowing specification.

As in the case of prior art patents, warp wires are fed through heddlessupported in heddle frames. However, applicants heddle eyes are providedwith insertion slits which permit the threading of warp wires thereintowith- 3,988,496 Fatented May 7, 1963 EQQ out using the eye as a target.By utilization of these insertion slits, warp wires may be stuc throughthe side of the heddle. Further, in order to make the maximumutilization of this novel heddle eye configuration, special heddlesupport recess configurations are used which allow the heddles to berotated a limited amount in the vertical plane of the warp shed. Byusing heddle frames which comprise upper and lower heddle supportelements spaced apart by heddle frame support bars, the orientation ofthe heddles may be changed by removing only the upper heddle supportelement.

The refinements of construction and detail of operation characterizingthe present invention, though not touched upon in the foregoing generaloutline, will be clearly understood from the following description whenread in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a heddle frame assembly andassociated supporting structure according to the invention showing onlythe first heddle frame assembly for convenience of illustration,

FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d) are enlarged fragmentary somewhat diagrammatic sideelevational views thereof,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view thereof,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevational View thereof, taken on theline 44 in FIG. 1, with only the fourth heddle frame assembly shown forconvenience of illustration,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevational view of a heddle according tothe invention,

FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of theheddle of FIG. 5 with a warp wire therein with the heddle in the raisedposition,

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary side elevational view similarto FIG. 6 but with the heddle in the lowered position, and

FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional elevational view ofthe lower heddle recess and lower heddle support element.

In the following description and in the claims, various details will beidentified by special means for convenience, but they are intended to beas generic in their application as the art will permit.

Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures ofthe drawings.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification,certain specific disclosure of the invention is made for purposes ofexplanation, but it will be understood that the details may be modifiedin various respects without departure from the broad aspect of theinvention.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, heddleframe assemblies 1 are shown separated from the general loom frameworkfor convenience of illustration.

It will be understood that heddle frame ways 2 are secured to thestationary loom frame supporting structure, and that heddle frameassemblies 1 may be reciprocated in the vertical direction by means ofconventional cams operating heddle frame cam follower mounts 3 attachedto lower heddle support elements 5 by ball pins 4. Each heddle frameassembly comprises an upper heddle support element 6, a lower heddlesupport element 5, and two heddle frame support bars 7 and 8. Upperheddle support elements 6 are secured to support bars -7 and 8 byattaching screws 15 and lower heddle support elements 5 are secured tosupport bars 7 and 8 by attaching screws 18.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 8, upper and lower heddle support elements 6and 5 have substantially cylindrical upper and lower support rods 9 and10 respectively inte gral therewith. Each individual heddle 11 comprisesa strip of metal with a centrally located warp eye 12 therein and upperand lower supporting recesses 13 and 14 respectively which mate with thecross-sectional configurations of rods 9 and 10 respectively.

Referring to FIG. 8, it will be noted that the recess 14 includes acylindrical portion with an included angle less than the included angleof the cylindrical portion of rod 10 by the angle (A plus A). Theprovision of this support rod and recess orientation allows the heddles11 and upper heddle support element 6 to be rotated by the angle Aforward or the angle A backward whenever attaching screws 15 areremoved.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be noted that upper supporting recesses 13in heddles 11 have a clearance width in the vertical direction slightlygreater than the diameter of rod 9 engaged therewith. This clearancepermits the removal of an upper heddle support element 6 from itsassociated heddle frame assembly by the removal of attaching screws 15,the rotation of both upper heddle support element 6 and heddles 11, andthe dropping of upper heddle support element 6 in the vertical directionan amount sufficient to disengage heddles 11 therefrom. This easyseparation of heddles 11 from their associated upper support structurepermits the utilization of different warp wire sizes, meshes, or weaveorientations without disassembly of the heddles from their lower heddlesupport element and the saving of both time and labor in the stickingprocess.

Referring further to FIGS. 4 and 8, it will be noted that the specificheddle and support rod configuration disclosed inherently provides thatheddles 11 are pivotable in unison with respect to lower support element5 about an axis transverse to the planes that include both the leadingedge 24 and the trailing edge 25 of each of heddles 11 when also engagedby upper support element 6, and provides that heddles 11 are pivotableabout this same axis individually whenever upper support element 6 isremoved. In the specific configuration disclosed in FIG. 8, this pivotaxis would be the longitudinal axis of cylindrical lower support rod 10.

Referring further to FIG. 1, it will be noted that conventional springloaded detents 19 are provided at each end of heddle frame assemblies 1in heddle frame support bars 7 and 8. This permits the insertion ofadditional heddles to assemblies 1 or the removal of heddles therefromwithout the removal of either upper or lower heddle support elements 6or 5, further facilitating the universal adaptability of applicantsharness structures.

Referring to FIG. 3, the arrangement of upper heddle support elements 6and their associated heddle frame support bars 8 is shown. It will benoted that the .two central elements 6 are shorter than the two outsideelements 6 and that the associated bars '8 of the outside heddle frameassemblies are narrower than the central bars 8 to permit the removal ofthe two central upper heddle support elements therethrough.

Referring to FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d), FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d) show the associationof heddle frame assemblies I, II, III, and IV with their respective warpwire banks 20", 20", and 20" in the four weft filling positions used forweaving twill. It will be noted that for conventional quadrangularweaves only heddle frame assemblies I and II would be utilized andassemblies III and IV could be removed from the loom by the removal oftheir associated ball pins 4 and the sliding of these entire assembliesout of the top of heddle frame ways 2. Thereafter the upper heddlesupport elements 6 and heddles 11 are removed therefrom and lower heddlesupport elements 5 replaced to run idle in the loom. It is to be notedthat heddle frame assemblies I and II and their associated heddle eyesare always oppositely oriented, one assembly up and the other assemblydown. However, when weaving twill or other more complex fabrics, allfour heddle frame assemblies are utilized. In the weaving of twill,assemblies I, II, III, and IV, would be threaded in the followingmanner, referring to consecutive warp wires as they are arranged inparallelism in the finished fabric, first and fifth warp wires 20 inassembly I, second and sixth warp wires 20 in assembly III, third andseventh warp wires 20 in assembly II, and fourth and eighth warp wires20" in assembly IV. It will be noted that by placing the assemblies inthis manner, when weaving ordinary quadrangular fabrics, only adjacentassemblies I and II are utilized. Assemblies I and II have a minimalvertical travel because their reciprocation to effect the sheddingaction is less than that of assemblies III and IV. Assemblies I and IIare geometrically closer to the fell 22 of the woven fabric 23. Shed 21is always the same size no matter which heddle frame assemblies are inthe upper or lower positions. The compacting of the four heddle frameassemblies in the horizontal dimension permitted by applicants novelheddle and heddle supporting structure reduces the total vertical travelof each of heddle frame assemblies II, III, and IV and thereby increasesthe overall efficiency of the weaving operation.

Referring further to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, it will be noted that each heddle11 comprises a leading edge 24 and a trailing edge 25, a first side 28and a second side 29, and that the metal on each side of warp eye 12 isdeformed to provide a generally conical depression, one side concave asshown at 17 and the other side convex as shown at 16. This configurationprovides the optimum wearing surface for warp wire interengagement andalso provides a warp wire path through warp eye 12 that is substantiallyparallel with the fiat surface of the body of the heddle. An insertionslit 26 connects trailing edge 25 and the end of warp eye 12 that isclosest thereto. In order to provide an optimum configuration for thewarp eye 12 and insertion slit 26, insertion slit 26 should be tangentto the end curvature of warp eye 12 and oriented from the major axisthereof by an angle B. Angle B should be selected so that insertion slit26 lies entirely within one of the conical depressions 16 or 17, 30degrees having been found to be an optimum angle for general utility.Further, conical depressions 16 and 17 may have a common apex 30, asshown in FIG. 7. In this way, warp wires 20 will be easily insertablethereinto, and yet there will be no tendency for the warp wires to snagor work loose from the warp eye during weaving operations, even in finemesh fabrics where the heddles are in close association. The warp eye12, itself, has a generally elliptical or almond shape with thehorizontal major axis 27 thereof aligned transversely to the line ofmotion of the heddle frame assembly associated therewith. Further, itwill noted that warp eye 12 has two end portions 31 and 32, as shown inFIG. 7.

Referring further to FIGS. 6 and 7, FIG. 6 shows the orientation ofheddle 11 with warp wire 20 when the heddle is in the upper position andFIG. 7 shows a similar interrelation for the lower position.

It will be noted that the angles D and D between the warp wires whichform the shed and the horizontal axis 27 of the warp eye will be thesame for each heddle frame assembly, but that the angles C and C betweenthe warp wire on the warp beam side of the heddle and the horizontalaxis of the warp eye will be smallest for the assembly nearest the fellof the fabric and will increase in size for other assemblies. Foroptimum facility of sticking correlated with the best operatingcharacteristics, angles C and C which will be equal, should be less thanangle B. Further, in order to increase the efficiency of the weavingoperation, angles D and D which are also equal should be as large aspossible. However, inasmuch as heddle frame assemblies 1 which areremote from the fell of the fabric must traverse a vertical distancewhich is a function of the angles D and D and the horizontaldisplacement between assemblies, ap-

plicants novel compact harness assembly allows much larger angles D andD for the same vertical travel of the heddle frame assemblies permittedby conventional or known prior art loom constructions, therebyincreasing the overall efiiciency of the weaving operation.

Further, although heddles 11 have been described as formed of metal, itwill be understood that they may be formed of any self-supportingmaterial, such as plastic, having the necessary physicalcharacteristics, or they may be formed of a combination of materials,such as plastic with metal inserts at the points of wear, such as warpeye 12.

Further, although insertion slits 26 have been shown as oriented at asubstantial angle, such as 30 degrees, from the major axis of the warpeye 12, it will be understood that for particular warp diameters andcompositions, this angle may be varied to include any angle which willdirectly connect the warp eye 12 with either of the edges 24 or 25.

It will be further noted that while the optimum configurationillustrated utilizes depressions 16 and 17, which are of greatestadvantage in fine mesh fabrics, for some applications, especially inwide mesh fabrics, these depressions could be eliminated. Further, thewidth of insertion slits 26 will primarily be a function of the strengthand diametric characteristics of the warp elements to be retainedtherein, and for some applications, the sides of insertion slit 26 maybe in resilient contact, allowing separation for warp element insertion,but maintaining a completely closed warp eye at all other times. Therange of warp element diameters which can be utilized with a single warpeye and insertion slit configuration will be a function of the width ofthe insertion slit and the rigidity of the warp element materials. For aslit of .030 inch width oriented at a 30 degree angle as shown, steelwire diameters of from .005 to .025 may be efiiciently woven.

The invention has been described in connection with an exemplaryembodiment thereof, but it is to be understood that this embodiment isgiven by way of illustration and not limitation; changes andmodifications in the details of the apparatus can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a unitary heddle having leading and trailing edges, two sides, anda centrally positioned warp eye adapted to retain a warp elementengageable therewith during a weaving process, the improvementcomprising; an access slit connecting said warp eye with one of saidedges, said slit being of such width and so oriented as to facilitatethe passage of said element therethrough into said eye transversely fromat least one of said two sides, and also of such width and so orientedas to insure the retention of said element within said eye during saidweaving process.

2. In a unitary heddle having a leading edge, a trailing edge, twosides, a centrally positioned warp eye having two end portions, a convexdepression connecting one of said edges with one of said end portions ofsaid eye, and a concave depression connecting the other of said edgeswith the other of said end portions of said eye, said eye adapted toretain a warp element engageable therewith during a weaving process, theimprovement comprising; an access slit connecting said eye with one ofsaid edges, said slit being positioned entirely within one of saiddepressions, said slit being of such width and so oriented as tofacilitate the passage of said element therethrough into said eyetransversely from at least one of said two sides, and also of such widthand so oriented as to insure the retention of said element within saideye during said weaving process.

3. A heddle as set forth in claim 2 wherein said depressions areconical.

4. A heddle as set forth in claim 3 wherein said conical depressionshave a common apex centered within said eye.

5. In a heddle frame assembly comprising, in combination; a lowersupporting element; a removable upper supporting element; two supportingbars to maintain a fixed relation between said elements; a plurality ofunitary heddles supportable by said elements, each of said heddleshaving a leading edge, a trailing edge, an upper supporting recess, alower supporting recess, two sides, and a centrally positioned warp eyeadapted to retain a warp element engageable therewith during a weavingprocess, the improvement comprising; in each of said heddles, an accessslit connecting said eye with one of said edges, said slit being of suchwidth and so oriented as to facilitate the passage of said warp elementtherethrough into said eye transversely from at least one of said twosides, and also of such width and so oriented as to insure the retentionof said warp element Within said eye during said weaving process; saidlower supporting element having a section in engagement with said lowersupporting recess of each of said heddles; and said heddles beingpivotable in unison with respect to said lower supporting element aboutan axis transverse to the planes that include both the leading edge andthe trailing edge of each of said heddles when also engaged by saidupper supporting element and being pivotable about said axisindividually whenever said upper supporting element is removed.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 5, wherein; each of said lowersupporting recesses has a cylindrical portion, and said section of saidlower supporting element has a similar cylindrical configuration.

7. In a heddle frame assembly comprising, in combination; a lowersupporting element; a removable upper supporting element; two supportingbars to maintain a fixed relation between said elements; a plurality ofunitary heddles supportable by said elements, each of said heddleshaving a leading edge, a trailing edge, an upper supporting recess, alower supporting recess, two sides, a centrally positioned warp eyehaving two end portions, a convex depression connecting one of saidedges with one of said end portions of said eye, and a concavedepression connecting the other of said edges with the other of said endportions of said eye, said eye adapted to retain a warp elementengageable therewith during a weaving process, the improvementcomprising; in each of said heddles, an access slit connecting said eyewith one of said edges, said slit being positioned entirely within oneof said depres sions, said slit being of such Width and so oriented asto facilitate the passage of said warp element therethrough into saideye transversely from at least one of said two sides, and also of suchwidth and so oriented as to insure the retention of said warp elementwithin said eye during said weaving process; said lower supportingelement having a section in engagement with said lower supporting recessof each of said heddles; and said heddles being pivotable in unison withrespect to said lower supporting element when also engaged by said uppersupporting element about an axis transverse to the planes that includeboth the leading edge and the trailing edge of each of said heddles andbeing pivotable about said axis individually whenever said uppersupporting element is removed.

8. The combination according to claim 7, wherein; each of said lowersupporting recesses has a cylindrical portion, and said section of saidlower supporting element has a similar cylindrical configuration.

9. The combination according to claim 8, wherein; said depressions areconical.

10. The combination according to claim 9, wherein; said conicaldepressions have a common apex centered within said eye.

11. The combination according to claim 7, wherein; said depressions areconical.

12. The combination according to claim 11, (wherein;

said conical depressions have a common apex centered within said eye.

13. In a loom harness assembly comprising, in combination; an evennumber of heddle frame assemblies, each of said frame assembliescomprising a lower supporting element, a removable upper supportingelement, two sup porting bars to maintain a fixed relation between saidelements, a plurality of unitary heddles supportable by said elements,each of said heddles having a leading edge, a trailing edge, an uppersupporting recess, a lower supporting recess, two sides, and a centrallypositioned warp eye adapted to retain a warp element engageabletherewith during a weaving process, the improvement comprising; in eachof said heddles, an access slit connecting said eye with one of saidedges, said slit being of such width and so oriented as to facilitatethe passage of said warp element therethrough into said eye transverselyfrom at least one of said two sides, and also of such width and sooriented as to insure the retention of said warp element within said eyeduring said weaving process; said lower supporting recess of each ofsaid heddles being in engagement with a section of one of said lowersupporting elements, each of said sections having an axis and all ofsaid axes being parallel, all the heddles of each frame assembly of onehalf of said frame assemblies being pivotable forward in unison withrespect to said lower supporting elements about the axis of the sectionof the lower supporting element in engagement therewith when alsoengaged by one of said upper supporting elements and being pivotableabout the same axis individually whenever said upper supporting elementis removed; all the heddles of each frame assembly of the other half ofsaid frame assemblies being pivotable rearward in unison with respect tosaid lower supporting elements about the axis of the section of thelower supporting element in engagement therewith when also engaged byone of said upper supporting elements and being pivotable about the sameaxis individually whenever said upper supporting element is removed; andsaid heddle frame assemblies arranged to reciprocate in a verticaldirection, thereby permitting said heddle frame assemblies to be closelynested in the horizontal direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS196,522 Flagg Oct. 30, 1877 1,517,129 Ruegg Nov. 25, 1924 2,556,468Consoletti June 12, 1951 2,877,803 Maruyama Mar. 17, 1959

5. IN A HEDDLE FRAME ASSEMBLY COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION; A LOWERSUPPORTING ELEMENT; A REMOVABLE UPPER SUPPORTING ELEMENT; TWO SUPPORTINGBARS TO MAINTAIN A FIXED RELATION BETWEEN SAID ELEMENTS; A PLURALITY OFUNITARY HEDDLES SUPPORTABLE BY SAID ELEMENTS, EACH OF SAID HEDDLESHAVING A LEADING EDGE, A TRAILING EDGE, AN UPPER SUPPORTING RECESS, ALOWER SUPPORTING RECESS, TWO SIDES, AND A CENTRALLY POSITIONED WARP EYEADAPTED TO RETAIN A WARP ELEMENT ENGAGEABLE THEREWITH DURING A WEAVINGPROCESS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING; IN EACH OF SAID HEDDLES, AN ACESSSLIT CONNECTING SAID EYE WITH ONE OF SAID EDGES, SAID SLIT BEING OF SUCHWIDTH AND SO ORIENTED AS TO FACILITATE THE PASSAGE OF SAID WARP ELEMENTTHERETHROUGH INTO SAID EYE TRANSVERSELY FROM AT LEAST ONE OF SAID TWOSIDES, AND ALSO OF SUCH WIDTH AND SO ORIENTED AS TO INSURE THE RETENTIONOF SAID WARP ELEMENT WITHIN SAID EYE DURING SAID WEAVING PROCESS; SAIDLOWER SUPPORTING ELEMENT HAVING A SECTION IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID LOWERSUPPORTING RECESS OF EACH OF SAID HEDDLES; AND SAID HEDDLES BEINGPIVOTABLE IN UNISON WITH RESPECT TO SAID LOWER SUPPORTING ELEMENT ABOUTAN AXIS TRANSVAERSE TO THE PLANES THAT INCLUDE BOTH THE LEADING EDGE ANDTHE TRAILING EDGE OF EACH OF SAID HEDDLES WHEN ALSO ENGAGED BY SAIDUPPER SUPPORTING ELEMENT AND BEING PIVOTABLE ABOUT SAID AXISINDIVIDUALLY WHENEVER SAID UPPER SUPPORTING ELEMENT IS REMOVED.